All In A Day's Work
by Angelic Devils
Summary: AU - Btvs X-Over. Two new students join Sunnydale High and bring a lot of trouble. Challenge Fic. C/A and others
1. Blast From The Past

A/N *Insane1*- Here we are again! Wow! I can't believe Mrs O agreed to do this with me! I mean, if I wasn't enough of a hassle to her before..lol..Anywhos, I guess I should explain what this one's about. It is a response to a challenge that Fyre asked me to set for her one night (VERY LATE at night so if it sounds pathetic look at the facts: I am insane and it was very late..) and I thought it would be interesting if I tried to do it as well..of course I asked Mrs O-Town if she wanted to join me and she actually agreed! (Still in shock over that one..lol..I mean it..I'm an annoyance to work with!) The challenge was: (In these actual words..lol)  
  
"Romance? Humour? Oh god..put me on the spot much? ^_^ Umm.. Okay. er.... set it in the high-school years of Btvs. Your choice whether it's a 'normal' fic..or supernatural. I want Spike in there somehow and if Dawn exists you will be shot on site. Relationship wise I don't mind who u put with who. I need my fix of Oz/Willow, although Tara can be another student....perhaps another member of the scoobies? I like Angel in there too....but not so much the b/a and, if possible, avoid this. I always wanted Giles/Joyce....and I never liked Jenny.  
  
Things u gotta use: (I'm in the mood for soap opera type stuff..so here we go)  
  
An unexpected pregnancy (like I said....sucker for soapies at the moment..oooh maybe more than one even..lol..but then at least ONE has to come to term) A can of coke Something from Shakespeare (don't ask) An affair (See above reasoning) A reference to the ep 'Reptile Boy' (again....don't ask. and if you've chosen a 'normal' universe fic....it can be about the frat party sneaking thing....or even just use one of the quotes for example) Cordelia must be called Queen C at one point in the fic at least A minimum of 5 chapters and a maximum of 20 (They can be of any length)"  
  
And that was it. We've chosen to do it as a 'normalverse' kinda fic. AU all the way. No demons or monsters. Get it? Good. ^_^ I can't say much more though, 'cos it'll give away too much..lol.. Also we are NOT fans of the blonde bitca..I mean *Buffy*, so if she seems to be portrayed in a negative light- GOOD! Plus we are posting this is the 'Angel' section 'cos he will be playing a main role and, lets face it, there are less pages of fics to sort through after every update. Therefore more coverage..lol..No, I'm not sneaky..^_^  
  
BTW, if you want to attempt the challenge go ahead by all means. ^_^ I really want to see what other people come up with, so if you do can u PLEASE notify me? Pretty Please with Angel or Spike (or whoever your fav character is) on top? Thanks muchly. Oooh..Wait..one more thing. REVIEW after you read please. Thanks. ^_^  
  
A/N *Mrs O-Town*- Hey! I said I'd only do Drawn To You, but when Insane1 told me about this, it was REALLY hard to refuse. We've been talking about this for a couple of weeks now and we really love where this is gonna go. I hope you enjoy it to and let us know if it sucks cos feedback is vital! Kisses and Hugs, Mrs O XxX  
  
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Buffy Summers-Giles strolled down the halls of SunnyDale high, whistling to herself. It was the first day of her senior year and she was on top of the world. Strangely enough, though, she had no reason to be. Maybe it was just the relief of escaping her boring little home life for a few hours each day. That made sense. What had she done all vacation? She had been forced to stay at home and help her mother and father with the gallery, that's what. However, her non-identical twin, Faith, had been allowed to do whatever it was she felt like..And why did Faith get preference? Because She was the oldest by..oh..2 minutes, and yet that was all it took for her to be granted more respect and trust and what-not. She hated Faith. Faith was always the one to help out, the one who did her homework yet the one who seemed to go to waaaay more parties. Buffy was baffled at how she did it. As a consequence, she hated her for it.  
  
Needless to say, the youngest Summers had issues.  
  
"Hey Buff!" Xander Harris called, rushing over to her.  
  
She smiled at him. "Hey Xand." She replied. "Whatcha up to?"  
  
Shrugging, Xander hooked an arm over her shoulders. "Not much. Dreading anything school related this year..Other than the girls." He gave her a sly smile and a wink.  
  
The blonde rolled her eyes and whacked his chest. "Never gonna happen."  
  
She didn't know why he never got it. They'd been best-friends for over 2 years now, and Xander still hadn't gotten over his crush for her. At first she'd been flattered, but now it worried her. What if Xander was just hanging around for the first chance to get in her pants and then leave? That was what had happened with Angel back in LA..and Parker after that frat party..and Riley, her current on again/off again, was beginning to give off the same kind of vibe.  
  
Xander grinned back at her. "It's a pity..You don't know what you're missing out on."  
  
"And, what a pity, I never will." She threw back at him playfully. "Besides, Riley and I are back together.." She paused. "Again."  
  
Xander tried to force his face not to fall, but he rolled his eyes at her anyway. "When did that happen?"  
  
They'd reached Buffy's locker and she started fiddling with her books. Now it was her turn to shrug. "Last week. He called me and practically begged for another chance." Okay..so it was a teenie tiny lie. She *may* have been the one to ask if they should try dating again, but what did that matter? "So, yeah, we're going out again."  
  
"Hey..You talkin' about me again?" Riley's voice sounded behind her.  
  
She smiled and accepted his embrace. "Hey.." She said, nuzzling into his shirt. "What's up?"  
  
"Not much..Word on the grapevine is that there's a new guy on campus." He responded.  
  
Xander grinned. "Hate to tell you this, but there's a lot of new guys on campus."  
  
"This guy's different. He's already got the whole school talkin' about him." Riley tossed back nonchalantly.  
  
"Really?" Buffy asked, genuinely intrigued. "Why's that?"  
  
"Few reasons really." Riley shrugged, hugging her closer to him and breathing in her shampoo. "One: he's from LA, which is a big thing in a small town like ours. Two he's repeating his senior year here. And three: he was apparently football captain of his last school."  
  
"Sounds like a dumbass to me," Xander scoffed.  
  
Riley glared at the smaller young man and looked back at his once-again girlfriend. "Well, I hear they've already picked him for this year's captain here at good ol' SunnyDale High."  
  
"What? What about you?" Buffy almost screamed. Did they have any idea how bad it would seem if she wasn't dating the football captain? God! Now it was like she was gonna be dating...a regular Joe.  
  
Riley shrugged and ran his fingers through his sandy hair. "Yeah....well....life's like that I guess."  
  
"Well, who is he?"  
  
"Some guy....never caught the name. Just the rep. He's somewhere between badass and jock if what they're saying is true." Riley responded with yet another shrug.  
  
"Well, I've been picked to be head cheerleader." Buffy boasted, in a (bound to be ill-fated) attempt to change the topic. Again, not a total lie. Cordelia had been awarded that honour, but she was Vice.  
  
Riley brightened at that. "Really? That's great. Here I was thinkin' good ol' Queen C would get it again-"  
  
"She did," Cordelia interrupted as she arrived at her locker which was situated near the group.  
  
Xander flinched. This was not a good situation.  
  
Buffy went red and turned to face her opponent. "Oh..." She chuckled nervously. "Did I say head? I meant vice..."  
  
Xander winced even more. This was gonna get ugly if Buffy didn't learn to shut up.  
  
"Sure..." Cordelia smiled as she put her books in her locker. Why was it she didn't sound convinced? That's right.. Because she *wasn't*.  
  
The tiny blonde grimaced and turned away again. Suddenly her cheery outlook had turned grey. "Well....I'm gone. Snyder's got me helping out in the library again." She paused and smiled a little. "Maybe Will's gonna be there too..."  
  
"Well..Make sure you're at practice. There's a game Friday night. We have to cheer on the new captain." Cordelia reminded the lesser woman..er..Buffy.  
  
Now Riley grimaced.  
  
Cordelia caught the other teen's expression, "Don't worry, we'll cheer on the rest of the team too." She informed him earnestly.  
  
Xander hid his smirk and watched as Buffy tried to be calm in her reply, forcing a cute little fake smile onto her lips. "Well...I'll see you this afternoon then. Gotta run." She turned to leave but paused and gave Riley a kiss on the cheek before heading down the hall. Xander lost his smirk.  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes. She almost felt sorry for him. 'Almost' being the operative word in that sentence. "I'll see you in English, Xander. Remember we have that essay due today." She told him.  
  
"Essay? Cordelia....We just got back from summer vacation....It's our first day of school. There was never any time to be given an essay." Xander replied, watching as she grinned back at him like some evil Cheshire cat.  
  
She shook her head, that annoying smile still plastered on her face. "Summer essay, Xand."  
  
Xander's face dropped. "Awww shit. No one told me!"  
  
Cordelia chuckled and Riley patted him on the back. "Uh...Xander, think back to two weeks ago. Our phone conversation? I said 'Don't forget we have that essay on Hamlet' and you said 'Yeah, don't worry about it, I got it all under control'."  
  
Xander gulped and looked at them, hitting his head against his locker at the same time. "Crap....First day back and I'm gonna get detention. Could it get any worse?"  
  
"Harris!" A voice boomed from behind him.  
  
Xander grimaced and looked at the ceiling. "I just *had* to ask." He turned and forced a smile. "Principal Snyder, what a surprise seeing you here....at school...where all principals and students usually go...." He looked at the glaring animal before him and lost his grin. "I'll shut up."  
  
The dwarflike man crossed his arms and snarled up at the boy. "Open your locker."  
  
Xander looked down at the creature...er...his principal in horror. "Why?"  
  
Snyder could practically smell the fear emanating from the boy in front of him. This was perfect. He was killing 3 birds with one big fat boulder. "I said OPEN IT!"  
  
Xander tried to stand his ground. "You have no right to-"  
  
"OPEN THE LOCKER BEFORE I MAKE SURE YOU NEVER GRADUATE!"  
  
"O-o-okay..sir," Xander responded quickly, fumbling with the combination. He opened the door slowly, hoping that there was nothing incriminating sitting in plain view. "Ahh.. crap." He muttered.  
  
Snyder lunged forward and grabbed at Xander's beloved Playboy. Riley stifled a laugh and Cordelia cackled along side him.  
  
Both Xander and Snyder turned to glare at them and they stopped.  
  
"What are *you* laughing at?!" The principal demanded.  
  
Cordelia forced the smile to go away. After all, she was an excellent actress. "Nothing. Riley here just told me a joke is all." She nudged the Iowa boy. "Isn't that right?"  
  
The teen in question rubbed his now aching ribs and nodded. "Yes sir. I was just trying to impress the lady." He added as solemnly as possible. Cordelia groaned at the other teen's phrasing, but smiled at Snyder anyway.  
  
Snyder turned his attention back to Xander. "In my office -- NOW!"  
  
Xander hung his head and followed the evil dwarf down the hall, fighting the urge to sing 'Heigh Ho! Heigh Ho! Off to my fiery death we go' as he went.  
  
As they trudged along, Snyder muttered things about confiscating the magazine and something about the perfect punishment. Xander was half listening and skidded to a halt when the principal said the words 'Harris' and 'tour guide' in the same sentence.  
  
"I'm sorry..I coulda sworn you just said I'm gonna be the tour guide to the new kids." He stammered, chuckling nervously. "Which is funny 'cos only the geeks get to do that and-"  
  
"Silence." Snyder hissed angrily, stopping at the office door. "You will do as I tell you, understand?"  
  
"But-"  
  
"You WILL do as I tell you."  
  
Xander sighed and Snyder opened the door to reveal two teenage guys dressed completely in black. Xander only had to glance at them to know that the tall, dark haired one was SunnyDale's newest football captain. He had no idea, however, about the kinda scrawny bleached one though. Either way, he knew he didn't like these guys.  
  
Snyder snarled at the newcomers. "This is Alexander Harris. He will show you around and then you will retrieve your books from the library and head straight to class. Any misbehaviour at all and you will ALL be spending you're afternoons with me for the rest of the semester. Is that clear?"  
  
Xander nodded slowly and watched as the other two reluctantly followed suit. After a second or so, Snyder snapped at them.  
  
"Well..What are you waiting for? Get out of my office now!"  
  
Xander watched as the bleached wonder and his cohort walked out before gladly following them. Once the door was shut behind them, he heaved a sigh of relief and then proceeded to punch the nearest locker while colourfully cursing Snyder's name.  
  
"I take it he's not one of these namby-pamby types then?" The bleached guy spoke up behind him. He had an obvious cockney accent and something about his tone just rubbed Xander the wrong way.  
  
He spun and rolled his eyes. "You think?" He asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone. Then he decided it couldn't hurt to be polite to the new guys..especially if they were like Riley had described the dark haired one. He gruffly extended his hand. "Sorry. I just hate the guy..but that was kinda obvious. Name's Xander."  
  
The bleached guy took his hand and shook it. "Spike."  
  
Xander couldn't help smirking. "Interesting name."  
  
The tall, dark guy let out a short chuckle. "Yeah.." He began, his tone somewhere between patronising, informative and joking. "Hard to believe he named himself."  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "Better than yours you big poof."  
  
Xander watched as the two interacted and held out his hand to the bigger guy. "So..You have a name..or nickname..or anything you want to be called?"  
  
With a small smile, and a *really* strong grip, the tall guy shook his hand. "Angel."  
  
"Angel, huh?" Xander repeated. "That's..different."  
  
"Long story." Angel replied.  
  
Xander nodded and started to head down the hall. "Look forward to hearing it."  
  
That earned a laugh from Spike. "You must *really* lead a boring life."  
  
At this Xander laughed genuinely. "This *is* SunnyDale.. Nothing interesting ever happens here."  
  
Spike and Angel chuckled as well and Xander started to show them around. Once he was certain they'd covered most of the grounds, he guided them back to the library. He swung open the doors and Wesley (or Mr Wyndham-Pryce as he preferred to be called- not that anyone actually did) greeted them.  
  
"Wes..These guys are lookin' for some text books."  
  
The Brit smiled, slightly disturbed at the use of his first name by the teen, and looked them over. "I don't suppose you have a copy of your subject lists?"  
  
They were in the process of gathering their required texts when Buffy and Willow emerged from the back office.  
  
"..So I thought we might head to the Bronze tonight after practice and catch up. You have no idea how much I need to get out of the house. I mean, all I hear at home is 'Faith this', 'Faith that', 'Faith did this', 'Faith did..Angel?'."  
  
Buffy skidded to a halt, her mouth gaping open.  
  
"No..I can't remember Faith being with any Ange-" Willow was rambling, having been a few steps behind the blonde and not seen the others. She stopped once she noticed the good-looking new guys and Buffy staring at the tall one in particular. "-Oh."  
  
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A/N- Okay..Review now please. ^_^ Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Hell, Insane1 even accepts flames 'cos she's a feedback addict. So press the little button and tell us what you think. Ta.  
  
PS *Insane1*- Remember that if you want to do your own response to this challenge PLEASE do it, but tell me once it's posted 'cos I HAVE to read it! (And I will review too!)  
  
Luv ya  
  
Byes for now  
  
REVIEW ALREADY ^_^ Thanks. 


	2. Shakespeare In Love

A/N *Insane1*- Heys! Small note this time, 'cos the main point is covered at the end. Thanks for the reviews last time and for your patience we bring you chapter 2. Enjoy. Toodles.  
  
A/N *Mrs O*- Yup. This was great to work on. We love it! I hope you do to ^_^  
  
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Angel grinned back at the pintsized blonde. It had been a couple of years, but he still remembered her like it was yesterday. Still, he didn't know her social status and they hadn't exactly ended on friendly terms, best to play it cool. "Buffy, right?"  
  
She nodded slowly, unable to form a sentence. He was the last person she thought she'd see standing across from her in the SunnyDale High library.  
  
Xander stood to the side, unaware of their past. "You guys know each other?"  
  
Buffy nodded. Angel shrugged.  
  
'Wait....He shrugged?' Buffy thought. That wasn't right. Not at all. Time to set matters straight. "Yeah...." She stated, finding her voice. "We were together....a while ago."  
  
Just then, Riley entered, followed by Cordelia. The former stopped. "Who was together?" He asked, before noticing the guys in black. He looked from the darker one to his girl, then back at the guy. "You're kidding me."  
  
Cordelia also looked between the two.  
  
Spike smirked. "Likin' this school already." He muttered to the nearest stander by "It's better than Passions." His comment went past unnoticed.  
  
"Hey...." The new brunette said, obviously putting two and two together. She looked back at the tall, dark guy. "You're the new football captain, right?"  
  
Riley wanted nothing more than to hit his head against the wall.  
  
Angel nodded, ignoring the look on the tall guy's face and looking directly at the girl standing next to him. "Angel. And you are?" he asked with a smirk on his face. This girl was definitely H. O. T *HOT*.  
  
"Cordelia Chase." She batted her lashes and held out her hand. "Head cheerleader."  
  
Buffy tried not to snarl.  
  
Angel swept his eyes over Cordelia, deliberately checking her out and smiled broadly. This is what he'd been missing. He took her hand and placed a small kiss on it. Spike coughed the word 'cheesy' at him and he ignored it. "We'll be seeing a lot of each other then."  
  
She grinned back and chuckled. Heck, if he was already resorting to cheesy come ons she's have him around her pinky in no time. She nodded and gave him another smile, watching the gleam in his eye as she did. "Yeah..Well, me and Riley need to get some books."  
  
Buffy was still confused....and the bleached guy was looking at her funny. So she did the first thing instinct told her to do. She marched over to Riley and wrapped her arm around him, hoping that this action made the proper statements to the parties that counted.  
  
Her boyfriend gladly accepted her embrace. After a moment of silence he decided to introduce himself properly. After all, if he was going to be on the football team with these guys, they might as well be on good speaking terms.  
  
Moving towards the new guys, he held out his hand. "Riley Finn. I'm on the team as well."  
  
Angel looked him up and down. The dude didn't seem that bad, but Angel just hoped Riley knew what he was getting himself into with Buffy. He gruffly shook Finn's hand. "Angel. And the annoying blonde behind me is Spike."  
  
Spike growled. "Annoying blonde?" He cut in, sounding mildly insulted, but still with a gleam of laughter in his eyes.  
  
Riley forced a smile at the other guy, before gesturing towards the others in the room. "This is Willow and my girlfriend Buffy..." He paused. "But you seem to have already met..."  
  
"Yeah, me and Angel had a *thing*," Buffy said.  
  
Angel tried to hide his rolling eyes. "It wasn't much...." He added. "Just a few dates."  
  
Buffy was shocked. *Just a few dates?* They had been dating for almost a year! And he was the one she first....gave herself to. She'd loved him..and he'd said he'd loved her...  
  
After a couple of seconds Buffy noted the stares Angel was sending towards Cordelia while she was collected some books.  
  
Suddenly it all clicked and she was very, *very* angry.  
  
She watched as Angel saw Cordy trying in vain to reach a book on a high shelf and grimaced he ran over to help.  
  
Buffy tore her gaze away and looked back up at Riley. "Well...we have class to get to..."  
  
Cordelia nodded, "Uh huh. We're doing Shakespeare in English this semester. My favourite." She grinned.  
  
Buffy froze and turned to look at her adversary....er....peer. "What?" She asked in shock.  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Shakespeare. He's my favourite topic. Of course, if you'd spent a little more time in class than in here, you'd know that." She stated matter-of-factly, before opting to add "I do have layers Buffy."  
  
"Yeah..like an onion." The blonde replied, thinking of Shrek. 'Oh that was *really* classy. She reminisces about Shakespeare, I reminisce about a cartoon ogre and his donkey.'  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes again in true Queen C fashion and Angel followed suit. It seemed that Buffy was outnumbered.  
  
Well, *that* was the last straw. Buffy got all huffy and stormed out of the library, Riley reluctantly in tow. Willow waved shyly and left a few seconds later, leaving Xander to shrug and followed them as well.  
  
Spike watched Xander leave. "Wait a tic..Isn't he supposed to be our guide?" he pointed towards the swinging library door.  
  
Now Cordelia shrugged. "He's Buffy's lap-dog. She won't give him a second chance. And he's not really a thinker..Poor guy." She stopped and smiled genuinely at the blonde guy. "So I guess you're stuck with me for now."  
  
Spike immediately brightened. "Now *that* doesn't sound too bad at all..."  
  
Angel grinned and said, "I don't mind that," at the same time.  
  
The dark boy paused and glared at his friend. This was his territory and, even though they were good friends, Spike wasn't getting anywhere near Cordelia Chase. Angel had already decided that she was his and if he had to win some stupid flirting contest to prove it then so be it. And make no mistake; Angel *would* win.  
  
Cordelia loved this. Guys threw themselves at her almost everyday.... but she never tired of it. Besides, this was the new football captain. The one from *LA*. Her status on the popularity meter would go through the roof. Plus, he *was* drop dead gorgeous.  
  
Then again, his friend wasn't too bad either, but Cordelia generally never went for blondes. His accent was to *die* for, though. No matter. He seemed a bit more interested in Buffy anyway. Which was strange, but good nonetheless because Cordelia genuinely felt drawn to Angel. He seemed more.... interested.  
  
But one thing was for sure, she wasn't going to jump into either one of their beds..not like Buffy was known to do. Cordelia knew Buffy hadn't had much luck with men, and she couldn't count on her fingers the number of times she's seen Buffy moping over some guy.  
  
Still smiling, Cordelia let Wesley check out their books and then personally escorted the boys to their next classes, all the while maintaining a general conversation, and leaving Angel hanging on her every word.  
  
Of course, she got a few glances from the other students. New students, cute ones especially, were a big deal and with her being Queen C, everyone knew these guys were gonna play important roles this year in their gossip lives.  
  
Their next class was English. Well, Angel and Cordelia's was. Spike was actually supposed to be in History with Buffy. Lucky him (!).  
  
Not that Spike really minded the prospect of spending the next 45 minutes with Angel's ex. Buffy was a looker....and he'd heard stories from his best friend that suggested other things.... plus she had a fiery attitude. So she had a boyfriend....that didn't really bother him. Finn was..an obstacle. Sure he seemed like a good guy, but seriously, this was dog eat dog.  
  
Breaking away from the head cheerleader and the captain of the football team, Spike disappeared into the classroom further along the corridor and scanned the room for his blonde ambition.  
  
Meanwhile, Cordelia led Angel into the English room and weaved in and out of the rows. She finally sat behind Xander and Riley. Angel frowned at first. But brightened when he noticed the fact that she'd saved him the seat beside her, directly behind Riley. He gave her that half smile of his; the one he patented at age 13 to make any girl's knees wobble, and moved to sit down, deliberately brushing against her arm as he settled in.  
  
Cordelia didn't outwardly react to his touch, although on the inside she was tingling all over. She hoped he didn't know, but Angel was more than aware of the effect he had on women.  
  
Nobody seemed to mind that Angel and Cordelia had instantly bonded. Well, maybe Xander minded a little bit. Even though he had a thing for Buffy, Xander still liked chatting with Queen C. But it seemed Angel would be taking any chances of that from him. Oh well, it seemed only natural that the football captain and the head cheerleader hit it off anyway. But nobody was expecting it to happen by the first lesson.  
  
Then again, Cordelia wasn't really the predictable type.  
  
Angel was about to lean in and ask her something, like what they were supposed to be doing, when the teacher interrupted him. He groaned. Cordelia smiled secretly.  
  
While the teacher went through the agenda, Angel spent most of the time staring at Cordelia and studying her model-like features. She seemed perfect to him, much more attractive than the models he'd seen in Playboy..not that he'd ever bought one..it was Spike's..honest! For a brief second he glanced at Xander and grinned. Cordelia had told them on the way to class that Xander had been given the chore of showing the new guys around because Snyder had found a Playboy in his locker.  
  
Chuckling internally, Angel looked back at Cordelia, noting the way she gently bit her lip when she was concentrating or taking notes with a pink feather pen. Okay, so the pen seemed a little immature and girlish..but it was kinda cute all the same. Besides, he was sure that she was much more mature in other ways. A sly grin appeared on his face as he thought of the many things he would be able to do soon enough.  
  
Angel was snapped out of his revere as the teacher called out his name. "Uh.. what?" he asked.  
  
The teacher sighed as the rest of the class glanced at the new guy. Correction- new *football captain*. "I asked if you would mind being Cordelia's partner? She's a good student and I think she'd be good for you- "  
  
Angel smiled and looked at Cordelia. "I think so too," He muttered just loud enough for most of the class to burst into giggles and whispers.  
  
The teacher rolled her eyes and went back to pairing up the rest of the class. Angel was more than pleased to have been paired up with Cordelia. She was slightly pleased as well..not that she'd admit it just yet. She did have a rep to maintain.  
  
Cordelia hid her smile and turned to Angel, who was more than eager to start work..well, not the work assigned of course. They started chatting about the different works of Shakespeare and before long Angel learnt that she really knew her stuff.  
  
However, Angel could have done without the continuous interruptions from Xander and Riley who had to ask Cordelia questions about their task. He wasn't surprised. Not every cheerleader was a brainless blonde.  
  
Not every blonde was brainless either. Even Buffy had proven to be smart upon the odd occasion..  
  
"So..." He started, forcing the thoughts of his past from his head. "What's your favourite Shakespeare piece?" 'Great conversation opener Angel' he internally chastised himself.  
  
Cordelia thought for a moment, nibbling her bottom lip again. "Taming of the Shrew, no contest," she replied confidently.  
  
Angel nodded, a little surprised at Cordelia's choice. "Strange. I had you down for a Romeo & Juliet kind of girl." After all, that was usually the case for many girls. Especially most of the ones he'd known. They just loved the whole romance thing.  
  
Man, this girl was definitely different. Considering the fact that she was glaring at him. Wait..That couldn't be right. Why on earth would she be glaring at him? They'd been hitting it off well and he hadn't said anything wrong. He'd been careful not to. So why the dirty look?  
  
Cordelia continued to glare at him. "Why is it that guys IMMEDIATELY assume that we all like Romeo and Juliet? He has written far better things, you know." She snapped matter-of-factly. "And plus, Romeo and Juliet has been soooo overdone. I've seen many a relationship based upon that,"  
  
Okay..That hadn't been the reaction he'd hoped for. "You don't think it was a great romance?" Angel asked, trying to get into her pants..mind! He was trying to get into her *mind*. He grimaced at his trail of thought and silently barked at himself. 'Jesus Angel! Watch what you're thinking! You're still in school for god's sake! And it's only 9:25'  
  
Unaware of Angel's internal ramblings, Cordy snorted. "Pfft, hell no! Look at the facts. One- He's on the rebound. Two- She's a teenage girl that is cranky at her parents," Cordelia counted off her fingers.  
  
By this time, Xander and Riley had already tuned on to their conversation. Riley shook his head. Angel had asked *that* question. Xander and he, as well everyone else that had ever been in one of her Shakespeare studying classes, knew there was no shutting Cordelia up when the subject of 'Romeo and Juliet' came up.  
  
"-Not to mention the fact she was 13!" Cordelia continued. "She sees a kinda cute guy, but the fact her parents would kill her if they ever found out about *this* particular guy makes her want him more. There was no love! Only a mismatched pair of twisted people and a whole lotta lust!" She ranted in response. She REALLY hated that play. It was the one thing Shakespeare did wrong.  
  
Neither Cordelia nor Angel noticed that the room had fallen silent and the whole class was listening to their conversation. Even the teacher was listening intently. She'd never seen a high school student that actually paid attention to Shakespeare, let alone debated the essence of his work. This was amazing.  
  
"Whoa...." Angel chuckled, holding his hands in 'Time out' position.  
  
"A Midsummer Night's Dream is okay I *guess*, but nothing is anywhere near as good as Taming of the Shrew," Cordelia continued, ignoring the 'time out' signal.  
  
He laughed openly this time, noticing their audience and blushing ever so slightly. "Cordelia...." he began.  
  
"I mean, many a movie has been made based on Shakespeare but the adaptation of 'The Taming of the Shrew' was the only one truly modernised and that really related to today's society.."  
  
"Cordelia." He tried again, this time catching her attention.  
  
"What?" she said breathing deeply to regain her breath. Boy, she was tired. Ranting- true passionate ranting- took a lot out of a girl. She watched as Angel smiled and gestured around the room. "We have an audience."  
  
Cordelia glanced around and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh," She grinned at their teacher sheepishly. "Sorry..got carried away.." She said as she sunk into her seat.  
  
"Don't worry, Cordelia. I enjoyed it. It's nice to see someone take such an interest in Shakespeare and be prepared to argue and back up their opinions on his works." The teacher smiled back broadly. It had been amusing and truly amazing. She never expected the jock and cheerleader to actually WORK.... "If you carry on like this, you may well get an A+ before the end of term."  
  
Cordelia smiled back happily, regaining her composure. "Thanks.."  
  
"But do try to keep it down." The teacher added.  
  
Cordelia nodded and glanced at Angel, who smiled at her. The class laughed and the bell rang, signalling the end of the lesson.  
  
Cordelia got up, only to be stopped by Angel. "Listen," he said as the class filed by  
  
She looked back at him, trying to ignore the fact that his hand was still on her arm. "Yeah...?" Oh...this wasn't good. He was actually making HER feel giddy. She hoped that this wasn't about her little rant. Secretly, she wished it was something a little more personal. 'Cordy!' Her mind chided. 'First day, remember? Lead *him* along. Make *him* go giddy. Rep to maintain!'  
  
Angel took a deep breath. Cordelia forgot all about her internal rambling."I may need some help in English. You seem to know a lot and I really need to pass this class. would you mind...tutoring me?" He asked  
  
Oh. Well, that was a let down. And yet, why did it still sound like a cheap come-on to her?  
  
Slightly deflated, she raised her brow at him. "Me? Tutor you?" She asked.  
  
He was hoping she'd say yes, and ignore the obvious come-on that his request was. English was his best subject....he'd topped his graduating class in it last year....but she didn't have to know that. "That's what I said." He replied casually.  
  
"But you seem to know a lot anyway. Plus, I'm already tutoring Xander..I really don't think I can tutor two people." Cordelia reasoned with him. Xander had needed her help a lot and spent a few nights at hers writing essays..okay, well, *Cordelia* wrote a majority of the essays verbally, Xander just pretended to understand it, while writing them down word for word as she spoke.  
  
Angel looked a little dejected. "Oh.... Well.... What if I asked Buffy to tutor him? I mean, she wasn't bad at English if I can remember correctly...." He stopped, realising that it wasn't helping talking about their past. "Not that I spent that much time with her...." He brightened. "Besides, I'm sure Xander would like that..."  
  
Cordelia sighed, unsure of the entire situation. "Look, I'll ask about it. Right now I'm late for Gym." She said. Angel took out his timetable, feeling like the biggest geek as he did. "It says I have Bio 101.... Where's that?" Silently he hoped she'd show him the way. As in lead him there by the hand.  
  
"Right down the hall. You're in luck, Buffy's in that class," Cordelia said with a small smile. "I'm all the way over there." She said, gesturing in the opposite direction. "Sorry."  
  
Angel tried not to grimace. "Oh....Well.. thanks. I'll see you later then." He muttered. With a wave and a swish of long, mahogany hair he lost her to the crowd.  
  
Angel cursed to himself as Spike walked up beside him. "So..." The peroxided one said, throwing an arm over Angel's shoulder in a friendly gesture. Truthfully it annoyed the hell out of Angel, but that was really why he did it. "How'd it go with the cheerleader?" Spike asked, smiling. In truth, he'd just witnessed their display and decided to patronise his friend (in jest of course). Angel growled at him in response. "That good huh?"  
  
Angel rolled his eyes and shrugged the other boy's arm off. "Actually it didn't go too badly....But it could've been better."  
  
Spike grinned and nodded in understanding. "So, Where are you off to now?"  
  
"Bio 101....or so the timetable says." Angel paused and looked at his friend. "You?"  
  
Spike pulled out his sheet of paper and inspected it. "Hey! You're in luck. I'm in your class."  
  
"What?" Angel asked. "Biology?"  
  
"Yes Biology." Spike replied, matter of factly.  
  
Angel rolled his eyes. "Oh goody." He said sarcastically.  
  
"Hey!" Spike said indignantly. Angel shook his head, "Not you. Buffy's in our class and she's coming this way." Angel said, looking for an escape route.  
  
Spike, on the other hand, seemed to perk up. "She is, eh?"  
  
Angel looked mortified. "You're kidding me, right?"  
  
Spike shrugged. "What? A man has *needs* and from what you've said about her I thou-"  
  
Angel cut him off. "Whatever, just as long as I get Cordy."  
  
Spike held up his hands as if to surrender. "Whatever you say Peaches."  
  
"*Don't* call me that *William*." Angel shot back  
  
Spike's eyes widened in horror and he glanced around the hallway, praying nobody had heard that.  
  
Ignoring Spike's sudden eagerness to erase time, Angel looked at his watch. "We'd better get to class." He stated. "Any ideas where it is?"  
  
Spike shrugged again. "Dunno....I say we follow Blondie...." He gestured down the hall, towards where Buffy was walking out of site.  
  
Pretty soon the three were in their class. Buffy making a few goo-goo eyes at Angel, which Spike mistook to be his..deliberately.  
  
Angel kept his gaze on the teacher, pretending that if he didn't see Buffy she might disappear. Unfortunately his plan hadn't worked so far, nor did it work for their next few classes. So when the bell rang for lunch, Angel hurried to avoid his ex. No such luck there either.  
  
"So, Angel. Are you heading out to the track? We're making up some new cheers for you." Buffy said sweetly.  
  
Angel shook his head, "Sorry Buff, but I've already made plans....But maybe Spike can go with you. He's on the team too."  
  
She looked the other blonde over. *THAT* scrawny thing was on the team? He had to be joking. "Uh....you know what....I think I was supposed to meet Riley...." Right. Riley. As in the boyfriend. She stopped to think for a second. 'As in you've gotta stop throwing yourself at you ex.' Her conscience hissed.  
  
Spike, however, grinned like the Cheshire cat at her and tossed his arm over her shoulder possessively, drawing her closer to him. "Great....I've been wantin' to get to know my team-mates.." He said happily.  
  
Buffy was less than impressed. She looked to Angel for help and groaned when she realized that he didn't care. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she'd say he was enjoying seeing her suffer.  
  
Truth be told though, it wasn't that she didn't feel attracted to this Spike guy, but she'd rather have Angel..Wait. She was still with Riley. Conveniently, She kept trying to forget that. Damnit. So now she had a crush on one guy, her ex no less, a boyfriend that she really didn't need and another guy that she really didn't want to be left alone with.  
  
Angel simply beamed back at her happily and started to move away. He waved as he headed down the hall. "Have fun kids..." He called, disappearing to find *his* cheerleader.  
  
At first it was hard to track her down, but then Angel asked a few people who were more than willing to help find her for him.  
  
Then he saw her. Standing in the middle of the hallway, surrounded by girls that obviously wanted to be her. However, Cordelia was the only girl he acknowledged when he strode over. "Hey...." he greeted smoothly, watching as some of the younger girls melted at his tone. God he was good. But then, why wasn't she acting all mushy for him? Because she was different. She was special. And he was determined to make her his.  
  
Cordelia hid the weakness in her knees and turned to grin at him. "Hi...." She replied. "How was biology? Oh, and your other subjects?"  
  
Angel shrugged. "Okay, I guess. How about you?"  
  
"Gym? Yeah....it was okay. We didn't really do much with it being first day back and all...."  
  
Angel nodded. "Wanna get some lunch?" He offered. "My treat."  
  
"Oh gee and cafeteria food is always so first class." She tossed back playfully. On the inside, though, her heart was doing summersaults.  
  
"No, I meant there's a little cafe near my house. I could take you there and we can argue some more about Shakespeare." Angel smiled  
  
She smiled back. "That actually sounds nice." She paused and checked her watch, even though she had already made up her mind. Still, she didn't want to let him know that she wanted him just yet. Better to lead him on for a while. "I suppose we can do that."  
  
Angel's smile grew as he realized she was actually going to join him.  
  
They walked together to his car, chatting politely about a variety of meaningless things and ignoring the crowds of students already formulating rumours about them.  
  
*  
  
Once seated in the cafe, Cordelia relaxed a little. This was really nice. He was being a real gentleman. It was slightly unnerving, but relaxing at the same time. Cordelia had never really felt like that before. Which scared her to bits. "So.. where did Spike get to?" She asked.  
  
Angel grinned wickedly. "He's busy..meeting people."  
  
Cordelia laughed. But there was a nagging feeling at the back of her brain that told her that she had to be somewhere. Oh well.. It was probably nothing important.  
  
Suddenly her cell phone went off. She picked it up. "Cordelia speaking."  
  
"Where the hell are you?" Harmony hissed on the other end. "You're missing practice."  
  
"No I'm no..Oh my god!" Cordelia suddenly jerked upright in her seat.  
  
Angel was startled by her sudden movement. She hung up, tossed her phone back into her purse, stood up and headed out the door. He followed her as quickly as possible. "Cordelia....wait up!"  
  
Catching up to her, Angel grabbed her arm gently. "Wait, what's the matter?"  
  
She spun angrily. "Practice. I'm missing it. Because I'm here with you." She heard the harshness of her tone and stopped. "I'm sorry....I'm just....I don't want to lose my place on the squad...."  
  
Angel nodded. "Wait...does that mean I have football practice too?" he asked.  
  
Despite the circumstances, Cordelia chuckled. "Well....we're both officially screwed."  
  
Angel nodded, "Okay, let me pay the bill and we'll go together, alright?"  
  
She agreed and waited at his car, thinking about what kind of rumours would start to circulate now, seeing as they were both significant members on the high-school hierarchy and they would both be late....together.  
  
She couldn't help but dwell on some of the images that sprang to mind. Wait! BAD Cordy. Very Very Bad.  
  
She smiled a little as Angel came towards her and escorted her back to school.  
  
*  
  
They rushed to their positions just as everyone was finishing their warm ups. Cordelia received looks of intrigue from most of the girls and a glare from Buffy. Angel received hoots and hollers of approval from his team-mates.  
  
Cordelia smiled and rolled her eyes as she heard some of the commotion from the football field. Oh yes. They were never going to live this down. 'Better start apologizing then.' She thought.  
  
Looking at her coach, Cordy had the grace to look ashamed. "I'm sooo sorry I'm late. I..umm..I kinda forgot."  
  
"You..forgot?" Their coach repeated, and then shook her head. "This is the last time Chase."  
  
She looked to her coach, to the squad, then back at the coach. "I'm so sorry, Angel took me to this really cute little cafe near his house and..let's just get on with the cheers."  
  
A series of murmurs and girly 'oohs' followed her statement and she glared at her squad. "I said cheers girls."  
  
They laughed, all except Buffy, and got into position.  
  
Meanwhile, across the field, Angel was apologising to his coach. "....I honestly didn't know." He finished. "It wont happen again. I promise."  
  
The coach nodded, "Okay, I'll let you off this time. But the next time you decide to have a little fun with one of the cheerleaders, make it in your own time."  
  
There was another round of hooting from his team and he shook his head. "Coach, the next time I decide to have a little fun with a cheerleader it might actually happen." He muttered under his breath.  
  
Luckily the only one to catch it was Spike.  
  
The blonde in question grinned and put his arm around his friend's shoulders, "Don't worry Peaches.." he taunted.  
  
The entire team laughed and Angel blushed, before scowling. "Thanks, *Will- "  
  
To Spike's relief, Angel was cut off by the whistle.  
  
After the mini-game, Angel and Cordelia headed their separate ways to their locker rooms and next classes. Already gossip about their whereabouts and actions at lunch had started to emerge. Angel grinned as he passed by one group, slightly intrigued at the mention of whipped cream. 'Hmmm....' He thought to himself, 'Might have to remember that....'  
  
On the other side of the school Cordelia was fighting off questions and suggestions left, right and center. "No...i'm not saying anything!" She hissed at people as she made it to her locker. Even then she had to fight everyone off. That was it. She'd had ENOUGH!  
  
Queen C spun angrily. "It was LUNCH okay?! There were no kinky acrobatic sex-capades in a janitor's closet!" She yelled out in frustration.  
  
Unfortunately for her, everyone had chosen that very moment to become silent as Snyder had chosen that same very moment to walk past.  
  
Cordelia moaned. "Oh CRAP!"  
  
  
  
********************************  
  
A/N- Quick note to say please review. You were all amazing last chapter. BIG thanks for the feedback. I know this has taken some time, but Insane1 was away for a week or so and Mrs O has been bombarded with coursework. We're never gonna forget about these fics, no matter how long they seem to take, so just hang in there, k? Ta. So, yeah, reviews much appreciated. As are suggestions. Feel free to email us and all that too. Ta.  
  
Luv you all  
  
*Angelic Devils*  
  
Ooooh! BTW, what did you guys think of Cordy's Romeo and Juliet rant? Lol.. 'Cos Mrs O has to take that crap from me (Insane1..dah) everytime the damn play is mentioned. I'm a diehard Shakespeare fan, but I CAN'T STAND R&J. Bleck. But, that's just my li'l POV. I get that there are people who like it, so I will respect that too. See, I try to see everyone's POV. Aren't I nice? (Meanwhile I am sitting here with the fingers of one hand crossed, but you don't know that..awww crap. ^_^)  
  
Still luv ya (even if you worship R&J..^_^)  
  
Please review. Thanks. 


	3. Whatever It Takes

A/N *Insane1*- Hiya People! First of all let me say I am SOOOOO sorry this has taken so damn long to get to you guys! I will take complete responsibility for the delay so if you want to flame for said delay do so at my email address. Lol. See, We had done a fair bit of the chapter and my computer crashed and I lost all my files. (Hence TTLG and TPT have also suffered considerably, but don't worry they ARE being worked on I swear!..shameless plugging, I know.) Then I couldn't get in touch with Mrs O 'cos I had to be studying and stuff for my final exams and crap and when I did, we salvaged a fair bit of it, but some needed some redoing etc. And then I had more dramas and had to graduate (school is OVER!!!!!!!!) and then went on vacation for a week or so..and then my grandpa died and there was this big kafuffle..*stops to catch breath* Anywho, what matters is the chappie is here and u are all planning on reading and reviewing *hint hint* ^_^ Luv ya all. *Neata  
  
A/N *Mrs O*- Hey guys. As Neata already said, we're sorry for the delay. It was all my fault because I was doing coursework and in my spare time I was playing around with Photoshop. Also, we've been redecorating our WHOLE house, which is annoying cos workmen are here constantly. Oh yeah, before I forget, can everyone please congratulate Insane1 on graduating! *claps* She totally deserves it! Right now, we are working on a chapter.ok, well TRYING to work on a chapter, we keep getting sidetracked because WE JUST CALLED EACH OTHER! I'm so psyched! It was soooo cool! We had a conversation for about 5 minutes on our phones! And I'm like ARGH! Yeah, so you can see we're both mental. We'll leave you with the next chapter and another hint :coughreviewcough:! ~ T  
  
***********************  
  
Cordelia felt the colour drain from her cheeks and be replaced with a shade of red. Snyder was standing in front of her and didn't look too please, not to mention the fact the whole school at stopped to listen to how she got out of this.  
  
"Principal Snyder," she tried her best to chirp. "I didn't see you there," she said with a small laugh. 'Must be cause you're so damn short," she thought to herself. "Can I just say-" she began. Snyder held up his hands as a mute signal to tell her to save her breath.  
  
"Miss Chase." he began.  
  
"That's me," she cut him off a little too cheerfully. Snyder glared at her. 'Great start, Queen C, interrupt the principal (!)' she thought to herself as she mumbled an apology.  
  
"I've heard.certain rumours.. circulating around the school," he said. Cordelia groaned. Even the principal had heard the rumours and it wasn't even the end of the day yet. This *had* to be a new world record.  
  
"Principal Snyder, honestly, you don't believe EVERY little thing you hear in a high school do you? I mean, let's face it, most of the stuff that circulates the halls-" Snyder held up his hand yet again, silencing Cordelia.  
  
"Miss Chase, it isn't any of my business," 'Damn right it isn't,' Cordelia thought, "But if you decide to play hooky during school hours, you WILL be punished," he warned.  
  
"I was NOT playing hooky!" she glared angrily at the short balding man, itching to add 'or hooker if you must know', "I accidentally missed a teeny, little bit of practise," she insisted. Ok, fine, she'd missed 15 minutes but it wasn't as if they did much work!  
  
"Tiny?!" Snyder repeated. "You missed valuable cheerleading time, not to mention the fact you got the new football captain in trouble!" Snyder began to raise his voice. Cordelia stared at him in disbelief.  
  
"Me? *I* Got HIM into trouble?"  
  
Snyder looked at her and crossed his arms across his chest. "I don't like your tone, young lady," he said.  
  
'What am I? His daughter?' she thought to herself, adding an extra 'eeeeew' to the thought. Deciding it was best to play nice she lowered her head. "I'm sorry Mr Snyder.... I'm just.. upset.. at some of the rumours myself." She peeked up from under her perfectly mascara-ed eyelashes to watch his reaction. He definitely wasn't impressed.  
  
"Miss Chase, I think it would be wise for you to take this as a warning," Snyder crossed his small arms over his short fat body. "I also have a chore for you," he said smirking.  
  
Man, she hated this guy. Cordelia feigned a smile even though she wanted to punch the annoying gnome. Why wouldn't he listen? And a chore? This just was not on! However, instead of attacking the hideous creature, she smiled at it. "Yes Principal Snyder?" she asked almost through clenched teeth.  
  
"There's a student who needs tutoring in English. I need you to help him,"  
  
Why did that sound very familiar to her? "But, Principal Snyder, I am already assisting Xander Harris and-" She protested before Snyder cut her off - again.  
  
"Mr Harris no longer needs your help. Plus, this is our new football star. He needs to keep his Grade Point Average up." He informed her.  
  
What the? Cordelia was confused. "Uh.... Question here. I thought you were discouraging me spending time with Angel. Now you want me to tutor him?" Honestly, this man was really twisted. And Cordelia also realised that she didn't even know Angel's real name. In fact, nobody seemed to. Not that it really bothered her. It added a certain flair of mystery to his character. Which only drew her towards him even more. 'Ack! Cordelia! No!' Her thoughts hissed. '*You* are *supposed* to be drawing *him*! Not the other way round!"  
  
Snyder brought her back to reality when he gave her that icy look. The one that made his fingers twitch and reach for his detention book. She'd definitely noticed it, but held her position. It occurred to her that if he needed her -which he obviously did- then she would be the one intimidating him. Pondering this for a second, Cordelia realised that it always seemed to work out that way for her. However, unlike most people, Snyder did *not* seem phased.  
  
"Miss Chase, are you the Head cheerleader?" he asked in a tone of voice Cordelia started to get worried about.  
  
Well duh! "Yes sir," she answered diligently. Snyder nodded slightly and frowned, as if he was thinking or trying to remember something.  
  
"And is it true you are supposed to embody school spirit?" he asked again. Cordelia nodded, although she wasn't sure she liked where this was going. No, she knew that she REALLY didn't like where this was going.  
  
"I would like to know why, if you are supposed to be a cheerleader, you won't agree to tutor a player of our football team?" Snyder asked. Cordelia could feel her classmates' eyes boring into the back of her head, all eagerly waiting for her answer.  
  
"It's not that I won't agree.... I just think he's better at English than he makes out to be. He doesn't need the help. I can see it just by discussing-" Cordelia tried to get Snyder off her back but she knew that she had no chance.  
  
"Miss Chase!" he barked, reminding the school of an angry little Chihuahua. "You WILL tutor Mr O'Malley or else you WILL be taken of the squad. Agreed?" he said raising his voice, so that the school could hear. Cordelia knew that he knew she didn't have a choice. Cordelia had worked for 4 years to get the Head cheerleader position and she wasn't about to lose it.  
  
Refusing to let the troll thing intimidate her Cordelia gave him her Queen C patented icy glare. "Yes Principal Snyder." Her tone matched her posture and facial expression perfectly. Meanwhile her mind was thinking about Angel's last name. And, for some extremely strange reason, she was silently wondering if Cordelia O'Malley flowed well.  
  
Snyder nodded, satisfied at the cheerleader's answer. He smirked as he left, pleased to have got his own way. Power, he loved it. He relished in it. After all, it was the only way to keep the delinquents in his school in check.  
  
Cordelia leant against her locker, cursing both Snyder and Angel when she spotted the devil in question walking towards her, with a smile on his face. He obviously knew what had happened. Cordelia gave him a patented icy stare as he approached.  
  
Angel hid his smirk. "So.... I guess you and I will be hanging out a lot more after all." Cordelia didn't reply. She was mad. Not only was she publicly threatened, she also knew Angel had schemed this. After a few seconds of silence, Angel feared that she was angrier than she was letting on. "Look Cordelia...." He began, his tone softened. He extended his hand towards her as he started to speak, but she jerked away from him.  
  
"Leave me alone," she snapped. "Isn't it enough that you've already begun to circulate rumours about us on the FIRST DAY of school?" she questioned him. Did he want her to lose her reputation? Of course, he was Buffy's ex- boyfriend, what else could she expect? Cordelia scolded herself for thinking that. She didn't really mean it, she was just angry.  
  
"Hey!" He exclaimed, slightly put out by her comment. "I *never* circulated anything about you! Tell me why I would! I mean, it certainly wouldn't earn me any points!" He winced as the words left his mouth. He'd just snapped at her. Great turn on Angel (!) Bravo (!)  
  
Cordelia bit her lip "Well, there are still some risqué rumours flying about. Plus, I was just threatened by *Snyder* and I could lose my place on the cheerleading squad if I don't tutor you." She almost dropped her resolve at that. "It's not fair!"  
  
Angel ducked his head. He'd put Snyder up to that. Begging Cordy to tutor him. At first the principal had demanded an explanation. Why should an A grade English student require tutoring? However, he'd managed to convince the evil little man that Cordelia seemed to know a lot more, and it would definitely improve his grade point average. But he hadn't known Snyder would humiliate Cordelia like that.  
  
"Cordelia...I'm sorry...."  
  
"No you're not! Because I have to tutor YOU, I can't tutor Xander, who needs my help more than you do." Cordelia interrupted.  
  
"I really am sorry!" He insisted. "Look.... Xander has already been assigned to Buffy. He was happy about it and-"  
  
Cordelia sighed, "Fine," she said, "But do you think *Buffy* is capable of tutoring him?"  
  
"Buffy's capable of a lot of things." Angel bit off absent-mindedly. Then he cursed himself for the connotations. He looked the brunette in the eyes and nodded. "I mean, Yes. If anything, I can remember her being good at English...."  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes. She had to admit Buffy was more than adequate at the subject...*when* she showed up  
  
Angel smiled, noticing Cordelia's anger subside. "I appreciate it, Cordelia. I really do."  
  
Cordelia managed a small smile. "Fine," she said finally, calming down. "My house, 7pm. Bring your Shakespeare book,"  
  
Angel's smile grew and his eyes twinkled. "Great." Then he paused. "Guess I need your address then." She smiled and handed him a piece of paper.  
  
"It's on there," she said as she walked past him, knowing Angel would stare after her.  
  
As predicted, he watched as she stalked off and proceeded to tuck the card away, making sure it was safe and secure within his pocket, a big grin plastered on his face.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Buffy walked into the library and slammed her books on the table, achieving a glare from Wesley. Not that she cared. She had just heard the most awful news. Why? Why her? Why NOW? Sighing indignantly, the blonde sank into her chair miserably. "This is just.... WRONG!"  
  
Willow looked up from her laptop, wondering what had bitten her friend in the butt THIS time. "What?" She asked gently. "Did you get a D again?"  
  
Buffy froze and glared at her best friend.  
  
"Or not..." The redhead added, trailing off and waiting patiently for the up-and-coming explanation.  
  
"No...." The blonde began, "Much worse. Angel.... And Cordelia...." She couldn't even bring herself to say it.  
  
"Angel and Cordelia.... what?" Willow asked. She had heard the rumours. Maybe they were actually true. But then she couldn't see Cordelia doing anything like that.... not at this stage anyway.  
  
Buffy took in a deep breath, in her over-the-top dramatic manner, and looked at her best friend. "She's 'tutoring' him in English!" She huffed.  
  
"Really? She.oh," Willow responded, slightly disappointed. She'd thought the gossip would be GOOD. "Well, what's so bad about that?"  
  
Rolling her eyes, the blonde stared at her friend in disbelief. "What's NOT bad about it?"  
  
"Well..." The redhead stuttered, "I mean.. if he needs help.. then she should help him."  
  
"That's just it Will!" Buffy practically shouted, hitting her biology textbook for good measure. "He doesn't need it! He's always been a top student in English!"  
  
"Then why did he want to be tutored?" Willow asked, now extremely confused. "Oh.. and what about Xander? I thought Cordelia was tutoring him.. she can't possibly help both of them *and* continue to train *and*-"  
  
"I get the point." Buffy hissed, cutting the other girl off. "It's obvious, Willow. Angel's trying to get into Cordy's pants.... and I get to tutor Xander."  
  
"I see.." Willow smiled. She knew how happy Xander would be when he heard the news, "Does Xander know?"  
  
"He's the one who told me!"  
  
"Oh." The redhead sighed, "So.. what are you going to do now?"  
  
Buffy shrugged and slumped back into her seat. "I'll tutor Xander, I mean, I don't mind doing that.... But I can't stand the fact that Cordy's with ANGEL!!! It's not fair!"  
  
"Buff, you can't have everything your own way.." Willow stopped as she saw the look Buffy shot at her, "I mean, maybe Principal Snyder thought Cordelia would be better for Angel.." Another look came Willow's way. "Shutting up now." she muttered going back to her laptop.  
  
Buffy pouted and attacked her text book with her pen, stabbing it numerous times like a funnily shaped voodoo doll with potential to teach. She mulled over her options and sat up straight as an idea entered her thoughts. "I've got it!" She exclaimed, eyes gleaming wickedly.  
  
The other girl wanted to inch away. Her best friend looked more insane than usual. "Got what?"  
  
The blonde grinned. "I know what I have to do to make things better for me...." She answered, before launching herself out of her seat and rushing out into the hall.  
  
Willow winced, she was more than aware of Buffy's twisted way of doing things. "I don't like the sound of this," she moaned going back to her computer.  
  
From his position at the library counter, Wesley 'tut tutted' and went back to reading. 'Teenagers.' He thought to himself. 'When did they all lose the plot?'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"I just don't get it." Riley repeated for the 10th time, glaring up at the ceiling.  
  
"Neither do I," Cordelia said sighing...for the 10th time. She'd been sitting next to Riley for almost 20 minutes, listening to him go on about Buffy. Not her favourite subject!  
  
He looked into her eyes, imploring her gaze for the answers they both knew she didn't have. "What did I do wrong here?"  
  
"I don't know, it shocked me too," Cordelia yawned, without meaning to. She'd been on the phone to Angel most of the night, discussing Shakespeare. Well, SHE was talking about Shakespeare.... he never got a word in edgeways. Not that he had minded of course.  
  
"She dumped me." He hissed, not really sure if he was trying to convince himself or just place emphasis on it for the brunette. "SHE dumped ME. Without any good reason. How did that work?"  
  
"It IS Buffy and she HAS dumped you...oh, 3 times now?"  
  
Riley reddened a little. "The other times were different...."He muttered.  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes "I'm sorry, I understand, really I do. I'm just...." she yawned "...tired"  
  
He nodded. "I noticed."  
  
Cordelia grinned, "Just ignore Buffy. Move on. Plenty of other fish in the sea," She said, gleefully offering her advice. She really hated the way Buffy treated him, and despised the fact that he kept going back to her even more. He was her friend and to see her hurt him time and time again was just.. Wrong.  
  
"I know.... but I can't help likin' her." He moped, his Iowa accent thickening a little with his emotions. "And I just gotta know what I did wrong THIS time...."  
  
"YOU didn't do anything wrong. It was HER!" Cordelia informed him. "She's obviously the one with the problem."  
  
"Yeah.... I guess.... All I really got from that conversation was something about Angel and her and some stupid ring...." He conceded. "There wasn't much talk about me this time now that I think about it...."  
  
"Wait? What about Angel and a ring?" She asked, immediately interested in the conversation.  
  
Riley flushed, suddenly remembering why mentioning Angel, Buffy and a ring in front of Cordelia would have been a bad choice to begin with. "I...uh...." He swallowed. "I wasn't really paying attention 'cos I was in shock from the 'it's over' and-"  
  
"Rye, you'd better tell me what you heard or I will beat it out of you!" she threatened, eyes flashing with anger and determination.  
  
He swallowed again, knowing she meant every word. "Fine." He sighed. "She said that she was gonna get back together with Angel 'cos the ring meant something big to her apparently...."  
  
"What RING?" Cordelia asked slowly, almost spitting the words out. And did he just say she was hooking back up with Angel???? No. That part must have been a hallucination because Angel had TOLD her that Buffy and he were over long ago and that their relationship had been 'nothing' in the grand scheme of things. So now the main issue was finding out exactly what the hell this ring was.  
  
"She just thrust this heart lookin' thing at me and rambled about some sort of significance." He shrugged, suddenly very fidgety under the gaze of Queen C. "I'm sure you've seen it.... she's been parading it ever since..."  
  
Cordelia was about to demand to know more when Spike strode up to them, "Mornin'!" he greeted them cheerfully, only to be grabbed by the shirt by Cordelia and pulled down.  
  
"Tell me what you know!" she demanded, slamming him onto the bench between herself and Riley.  
  
Looking slightly flustered he pulled her hands from his shirt and looked at her, head cocked to the side. "Confused here, pet. Wanna fill me in?"  
  
"Tell me about the ring!" She snapped. "The one Angel 'gave' Buffy!"  
  
Spike looked at the other boy, who shrugged and elaborated, "Buffy dumped me saying she was hooking back up with Angel and waving some ring around telling me how special it was." He gestured at Cordelia's impatient glare. "I told Cordy.... And, well, you can work the rest out from there."  
  
The cheerleader still hadn't calmed down and Spike was thinking it was quite amusing, however Angel would probably think otherwise. It would probably be best if he tried to smooth things over seeing as school was over for the day and Angel would be heading towards Cordy's place for his so-called 'tutoring'.  
  
Spike smirked. "Well first off, Angel isn't after Buffy.... he has eyes for another." He grinned at Cordelia -who seemed to hesitate at the guarantee- and then continued. "So Blondie is now without a beau...." He smirked at Riley, who glowered back at him. "Sorry mate, but your honey's fair game now."  
  
Riley mumbled something and looked at the ground.  
  
Cordy patted him on the back reassuringly, while gazing up at Spike, "So.... Angel and Buffy are-"  
  
"Not gettin' together and never will be."  
  
Riley and Cordelia sighed. "Then why did Buffy say she was with Angel? And what is with the damn RING?" She asked.  
  
"Oh bloody hell!" The blonde rolled his eyes in frustration. "The Claddagh? That was from a long time ago when Peaches and her were kinda an item...."  
  
"What's a Claddagh?" Riley asked  
  
Spike shrugged. "More or less an ancient Irish wedding band...." He stopped himself too late. He'd said the 'W' word. "Of course, it's really only a friendship thing an-"  
  
"*Wedding* band?" Cordelia gasped. "WEDDING BAND?! What happened to 'It was a thing...nothing much.... blah blah blah.'?"  
  
Spike eyed the ranting brunette. "Calm down luv." he coaxed.  
  
"Calm down? CALM DOWN?! How am I supposed to calm down? He lied. The stupid son of a bitch lied. 'It was nothing' my ass!" She raved, now pacing the hall. "Calm down! Hah! I'll show you who can calm down!" She stormed off, leaving the two boys speechless.  
  
Spike looked at Riley. "Did I say something wrong?"  
  
Riley shrugged, "I dunno. She does that a lot lately," he said as he followed after her.  
  
Spike shrugged and watched him leave. Then the thought hit him that he may have to warn Angel about a few more rumours that were certain to begin making the rounds. He pulled out his cell phone and dialled Angel's number.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Angel had decided to walk to Cordelia's. It was a nice day out and, seeing as his car was in the shop, what other choice did he have? Besides, he could stand the exercise. He was the football captain and needed to keep fit. A wicked smirk crossed over his handsome face when the thought hit him that sometime soon (if he got his way) Cordelia could help him with some of his..uh....exercises too.  
  
A shrill ringing pulled him from his thoughts and it took him a moment or two to work out that it was his cell.  
  
Angel growled. He hated this thing. He didn't even know why he bought it..Oh right; Buffy had made him buy it a couple of years back, when they were still together. In hindsight, Angel realised that he should have taken it as a bad omen way back then.  
  
Staring at it for a couple of rings, Angel finally managed to press the right button, "H-h-hello?" he said.  
  
"Peaches!" Spike's voice crackled through the line. "How you doin' this afternoon?"  
  
Angel growled, "What are you calling me for?"  
  
"Is that anyway to talk to a friend?"  
  
"Spike, I don't have time to put up with your crap right now. Kinda on my way to-"  
  
"-The cheerleader's place." The blonde finished. "I know."  
  
Angel paused for a second. "How do you know?"  
  
"My my, aren't we beginning to lose our memory in our old age." The other boy chuckled on his end of the line, revelling in the fact that Angel couldn't strangle him long-distance.  
  
"SPIKE!"  
  
"Okay, okay.... You told me, remember. You were all on a bleedin' buzz 'cos she agreed -under duress might I point out- to 'help you' with your English."  
  
"Yeah...." The brunette said, " Your point?"  
  
"Anyway, just thought you should know that she's not exactly your biggest fan right now and-"  
  
Angel snarled. "What did you do?" He snapped, cutting the blonde off.  
  
"Me? Do? Why would I do anything?" Spike asked innocently. "I should be insulted you know. I mean, I was bein' a good friend -somethin' I don't do too often- and you ASSUME that I'm the reason your beloved Cheerleader despises you."  
  
"Fine!" Angel exclaimed in frustration. "Just explain. Now."  
  
"Ok, ok. Geeze, keep your pants on." Spike snarked, enjoying tormenting his friend. "Basically the Cheerleader's under the impression you're still very much attracted to Buffy and-"  
  
"She's WHAT?" Angel yelped, horrified. This HAD to be Spike's fault. "And how, may I ask, did she get under said impression?"  
  
"She thinks--"  
  
"She thinks....?????"  
  
"Well, I don't know EXACTLY, but Buffy dumped Riley and I may have mentioned the Claddagh.." He trailed off, leaving the doughy brunette to put two and two together.  
  
Angel couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What do you mean you *MAY* have mentioned the Claddagh?" He asked. "What EXACTLY did you say?"  
  
"Well, um..I did say it was like a wedding band and the way Blondie was parading it about may have given Cheerleader the wrong impression." Spike replied.  
  
"Oh that's just great!" Angel responded sarcastically. "Absolutely brilliant."  
  
"Well, at least I warned you," Spike added a little too cheerfully for the other boy's liking.  
  
Angel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, 'cos you're always so helpful too." He stopped, realising he was outside Cordelia's house. "Well, I'm here. Gotta go. See ya." Before Spike could reply, Angel had pressed the little red looking button, and ended the conversation. Now.... what to tell Cordelia....  
  
Angel sighed as he reached the front door and knocked, checking his breath as he did.  
  
Cordelia opened the door, took one look at him and slammed it shut again.  
  
"Uh....Cordy?" He called optimistically, "You seem to have shut the door."  
  
****************************  
  
A/N- Okey Dokey Pokie..U gotta review now. ^_^ 


	4. 10 Things I Hate About You

A/N*Insane1*- Ooh...we're back again. Who knows for how long. Short note from me this time. (Wow, first time for everything!) I wanted to say THANKS to everyone who has stuck by us, as we know it's been FOREVER..but T has been doing her GCSEs and I've had uni..LOTS of assignments..*sigh*. I'm very sorry about the delay. After June we'll have a lot more time to work on the fics and post them. ^_^ Thanks again, we love ya HEAPS. ~Neat  
  
A/N*Mrs O* - Yup, everything Neat said and more. I've been so busy with my stupid GCSEs and Neat's been buried under a pile of assignments. We've actually had this chapter roughly written since October! But you've got it now and my GCSEs end in just over a month so updates should be a little more frequent. Plus, we'll be less stressed and less likely to kill all the characters in a freak volcano accident! Anyhoo, we love you for sticking with us and hope you lurve this chapter as much as we lurved writing it. Just a bit of warning. Don't be eating or drinking while reading this chapter! ^_^ ~T xXx  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Angel yanked his locker open, allowing the door to slam against a neighbouring locker. He was not impressed. It had been a week since the rumours about him and Buffy had started. Cordelia hadn't spoken to him since. He glanced around once more as he idly picked out a few books and dumped his gym shoes in there. He had left a million messages on her answering machine, and had only received one from the butler telling him to stop calling.  
  
Then, Angel had been forced to leave messages on her voicemail. He'd even tried learning how to use his cellphone for God's sakes! And still Cordelia was ignoring him. He'd tried his best to confront her, but she'd always find a way of weaselling out of it. He slammed his locker shut, growling in frustration. What was he meant to do?  
  
This wasn't right! It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to have spent hours getting to know each other in tutoring sessions, and by today they would have been discussing plans for a first date. How the hell did it go so wrong in a week?  
  
There hadn't been one tutoring lesson, and Angel contemplated on informing Snyder, but figured that that might not be such a good idea. Cordelia would definitely have his head for that. Besides, he was supposed to be football captain. He was a big boy. He could handle this little 'set back' on his own.  
  
But, if this was so true, why were none of his attempts at getting her attention working? They'd all worked before. He'd tried getting Spike to help him, but he was off pursuing the blonde who'd caused all this.  
  
Angel stalked off to English, a lesson where he knew he could try and get her attention. Besides, he sat next to her and was her partner. She HAD to listen to him sooner or later.  
  
~*~*~  
  
Cordelia walked briskly into the English room, listening to Xander and Riley's bickering over something or other. She didn't want to be mad at Angel...much. But that was the only thing she could do right now.  
  
How could he lead her on like that when he was going out with someone else? She asked herself as she sat down, making sure that there was no place for Angel where she sat.  
  
Cordelia put her anger on hold for a second, almost regretting never letting Angel explain himself. But then the anger was back, and she didn't really care what he had to say. Knowing him, it'd probably be another lie. She looked sadly at her nails, wondering how a nice guy like that could ever turn out so vile.  
  
She glanced up from her nails and looked up at the door. Angel walked into the room in that way that almost took the breath away from her. He was the perfect guy.who ended up being a jerk. He looked at her with a small smile as he made his way towards her. She looked at him icily and turned back to her nails. Angel searched for his seat, before realising it wasn't there. Cordelia had made it clear she didn't want him to sit with her. His smile vanished and was briefly replaced with one of rejection. But he covered it up and went to sit at the back of the room.  
  
Xander caught Cordelia's glare at Angel and when out of earshot, he asked, "So, are you STILL mad at him?"  
  
She looked the other boy over and then chose to glare at him as well. "Wouldn't YOU be?" she questioned. Xander shrugged.  
  
"I guess so, but it's not like you've let him explain," Her hand flew up to silence him.  
  
"Why should I? He's probably only gonna lie again to cover his tracks." She thought for a second. "Besides, I don't know why you're defending the guy. After all, he's with the girl of *your* dreams." It was Riley's turn to stare at her now. "And yours" she added quickly.  
  
Xander, now a nice beetroot red, cleared his throat. "Look...all I know is that in high school, gossip tends to get outta hand easily. I mean, what was it about the kinky acrobatics in a janitor's closet that-"  
  
"THAT was different." Cordelia snapped, folder her arms and staring at the black board. This discussion was clearly over. Riley and Xander exchanged looked and left their friend to wallow in her anger.  
  
The teacher strode in and looked around. Immediately she noticed that something was definitely wrong with the seating arrangements. She set her books on her desk and gazed at the students. "Now, if you could all please get up and move into your set pairs...." Cordelia scowled. She wasn't going to move. Angel, however, smiled. Now she had no choice *but* to move.  
  
The teacher gave Cordelia a look and she reluctantly began to move. As Angel saw this, he raced to sit next to her. She could feel his presence before he even sat down, so she turned her head away from him and stuck her well built nose into the air.  
  
Riley gave Angel a sympathetic, yet manly, pat on the back. He'd had the chance to discuss the 'Buffy' situation with both Spike and Angel, and both boys had confirmed it to be false. And Angel was still his teammate. "Good luck." He muttered, moving to sit with Xander.  
  
"I think I'm going to need it," Angel muttered as his stared at the brunette beauty, who refused to look at him. He took a deep breath and inched his seat nearer to Cordelia's, "Uh.Cordelia? Cordelia please, you have to let me explain."  
  
She spun angrily in her seat, making Angel jump. "Explain? What is there to explain? You're with your ex again. Good for you." Her tone was so cold. So cruel. Angel was almost afraid of her. ALMOST being the operative word in that sentence.  
  
Angel looked around out of the corner of his brown eyes, noticing why there were so many people near them. They wanted to see the show.  
  
He shrugged. It didn't matter. Actually, the more people that got the message the better. "Cordelia, if you let me explain." he hissed  
  
"No. You know what? You don't get to Liam O'Malley. You just don't." She tossed back.  
  
"Liam?" They heard someone snigger. Angel was taken aback. How the hell did she know his real name? He glared around the classroom.  
  
"Shut up," he snapped. They did so. He shook his head and began again, "You've got it all wrong,"  
  
She raised her brows. "Right. Next you'll be trying to tell me that Spike's the Tooth Bunny!" the class broke out into sniggers. That was it. Angel had had enough.  
  
"Would you just take your head out of your ass for one moment?" he half asked, half exploded. Xander and Riley looked at each other and groaned. Angel realised his slip a little too late, "Cordelia.wait!"  
  
She turned to him, "I'm sorry, but my head is too busy being up my ass!" she retorted as she leapt up and walked out of the classroom, turning bright red.  
  
The teacher, who pretended not to hear, cleared her throat, prompting the class to return their attention to her. The teacher smiled secretly. This would make good gossip for the teacher's lounge. She clapped her hands together, trying to get them to do some work. But were they going to actually work this lesson? Of course not. Instead they were busting to spread the various tidbits of gossip that they had just witnessed.  
  
Angel moaned and let his head fall into his hands, while Xander muttered a sarcastic "Smooth goin'" behind him. He banged his head on his desk. 'She's one difficult girl to figure out' he thought.  
  
"Umm...Newsflash to Mr O'Malley." One of his jock buddies chuckled. "No girl likes being told her head is up her ass...."  
  
Angel knew that once this lesson was over, people would start spreading the word. He had 30 minutes. He saw someone bring out their phone. Scratch that. He had 3 seconds before the whole school would know about this little episode. Oh and the name! How the hell had she known that?  
  
"Yeah!" he heard a girl giggle, "*Liam* O'Malley!" He hit his head on the desk again. How was he supposed to convince Cordelia and an entire school that the Buffy thing was false?  
  
He looked around the class for clues. He knew she liked Shakespeare. Should he recite a sonnet? Nothing Romeo and Julietish of course. He internally recited all the Shakespeare plays he knew. Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, MacBeth, Taming Of The Shrew...suddenly an idea hit him. He grinned as he made a phone call on his phone.  
  
This was sure to get Cordelia back...even at his own expense.  
  
~*~  
  
The school field was packed as the rows of Sunnydale High supporters whistled, waved their Razorback flags and cheered for their team. The cheerleaders did their duty by injecting school spirit - maybe it was the short skirts that did it.  
  
"Where is O'Malley?" Sunnydale's coach yelled over the booming band music. There were a few shrugs before someone spoke up.  
  
"Uh." Spike raised his hand, then pointed at the grandstands. "I think you should try lookin' over there for him...."  
  
~*~  
  
Cordelia sighed as she brushed off some dust from her skirt. Clutching her pom poms in one hand, she took a swig of water from her sports bottle. Suddenly, she heard her friends gasp. Following their gaze, she noticed what was going on. In fact, the whole school had.  
  
"What the hell does he think he's doing?" She muttered, before being silenced by her squad's unanimous "Shhhh"  
  
Everything went quiet as the whole field waited anxiously to see what the man was going to do.  
  
"You're just too good to be true...." The voice crackled through the PA system, "I can't take my eyes off of you."  
  
Cordelia frowned as realisation sunk in. He wouldn't be that stupid...Would he? Her jaw dropped as she saw a fully fitted out Angel slide down a pole in true Heath Ledger style.  
  
"Oh my."  
  
"Shhh!" Cordelia was silenced again by her teammates who were grinning from ear to ear at Angel's actions.  
  
"You feel like heaven to touch..." He paused and smirked. 'Not that I'd even know yet...' He thought, before the song picked up again. "I wanna hold you so much...."  
  
The song continued, as Angel slid along the bleachers, interrupting himself every so often to correct the lyrics to fit his situation. Finally, as the music came to an end and the song reached it's final climax, the football captain found himself standing before Cordelia Chase, belting out the final notes.  
  
"I love you, baby, and if it's quite alright, I need you, baby, to warm the lonely nights.So let me love you, baby, let me love you." The note held out and then he stopped, inches from Cordelia's blushing face.  
  
"That was." She started, trailing off with a smile.  
  
He nodded, swallowing slowly. "Yeah"  
  
Slowly and uncertainly, their lips found each other and they delved deeper into the kiss, ignoring the catcalls and hollers from the crowd.  
  
However, the coach blowing a whistle interrupted their moment.  
  
They turned in perfect unison, finally recognising the fact that the entire school was watching them and Angel turned bright red. "I didn't mean to leave this thing on..." He muttered, switching off his mic, as they turned to face the owner of the angry whistle.  
  
"O'Malley!" The balding man cried in outrage.  
  
"Right." Angel glanced once more at Cordelia, who looked on top of the world as the rest of the cheerleaders squealed in delight.  
  
Then he looked back at his teammates, most of whom were already mimicking him, pretending to leap around like sissies. He winced. He was never, ever going to live this down. But, for the strangest reason, he didn't care.  
  
He had Cordelia  
  
And that was another thing. Why had he humiliated himself for her? After all, he could have any girl he wanted...and was happy with that...until he met her. It was so strange...He'd never ever needed to fight for a girl's attention, but he felt that without hers he would go insane. Something was very wrong with him.  
  
He shook his head clear of the thoughts, as he got ready to play some football. "Gotta go." He informed the girl in question, before heading towards the rest of his team.  
  
When he made it to the centre of the field, his coach was certainly not impressed. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"  
  
"Uh, playing football?" Angel suggested.  
  
The coach glared. "You know the rules O'Malley! Last time I thought I made it clear that any fun you wanted to have with a cheerleader took up your own time!"  
  
"But..." Angel protested  
  
"There will be no 'buts' O'Malley! You hear me?! And those shenanigans up there were definitely not appropriate!"  
  
Angel scowled, glancing at the rest of the team who were now silenced.  
  
The coach continued to yell at him. "-Especially when SunnyDale North have come to play us! I should have your ass kicked off the team for the sheer stupidity and misrepresentation of school honour you've shown today!"  
  
Cordelia saw what was happening and strode over. Angel groaned. *That* was all he needed.  
  
A buzz of excited silence fell over the field. Spike grinned and muttered. "I was right. This school *IS* better than Passions..."  
  
"Excuse me, Coach?" Cordelia asked.  
  
The balding man turned to face her. "What?" he sneered, an annoying smirk plastered on his face. "Little lady come to save her boyfriend from gettin' in trouble?"  
  
Cordelia glared. "He's not my boyfriend,"  
  
Angel fought every urge to knock the guy out, before hearing what Cordelia had just said. "What?" He gasped. "Even after I humiliate myself for you and that kiss you STILL won-"  
  
"He hasn't asked me out yet." She concluded, glancing at him. "You're only my boyfriend when you take me out,"  
  
Angel grinned and heaved a sigh of relief. "Well in that case-"  
  
The coach cleared his throat. "This still doesn't make up for what you did, O'Malley,"  
  
"I know coach, But-"  
  
Cordelia cut Angel's apology short. "I'm sorry, Coach. If you blame anyone, blame me. I put him up to it,"  
  
"I find that a little hard to believe."  
  
"You're right. She's lying." Riley added, walking up to the group.  
  
Cordelia shot him a glare.  
  
"See, its an initiation thing... we both kinda set him up..." He finished, smiling at her, internally praying that she'd do her thing and improvise.  
  
Cordelia nodded, "Yeah. Angel's new so we gotta make him do something humiliating..." she glanced at Spike, "It's Spike's turn next!"  
  
"Say what?" The blonde exclaimed. "I think hanging around Peaches is humiliatin' enough!"  
  
The coach looked between the group with caution. He didn't really buy it. "So why hasn't this sort of thing been done before?" He asked.  
  
"He's the new football captain!"  
  
"And that makes a difference how?" He paused. "And I thought you intended on doing the same to Spike here as well?"  
  
"well...uh, Spike's the new chess captain,"  
  
"I'm WHAT? Listen here! I am no soddin'-" Angel clamped his hand over Spike's mouth.  
  
"He's very modest," Cordelia cut in.  
  
"Ow...He bit me!" Angel exclaimed glaring at the fuming Spike.  
  
The coach grunted and nodded. He seemed to buy their story. Cordelia heaved a sigh of relief as he turned his back. Just as long as he never discovered the fact that there was no chess team, they'd be set.  
  
Angel, meanwhile, was still glaring at Spike. "You bit me!" He paused. "I can't believe you bit me!"  
  
"I can't believe you told everyone I play chess!" Spike retorted.  
  
"YOU. BIT. ME!"  
  
"Hey hey guys!" Cordelia intervened breaking them up, "Save the aggression for the game, please,"  
  
"Honestly! Who goes around BITING people?" Angel was not letting it go anytime soon. "Vampire!"  
  
Spike hissed in reply "Oi! I may be a lot of things, but Vampire is sadly not one of 'em... But this one time on Passions...."  
  
The coach blew his whistle, cutting off the last of Spike's sentence.  
  
Cordelia made her way towards her squad and the other team managed to pick themselves up from the grass, they'd been laughing that hard.  
  
Cordelia got into position and with a wink at Angel, she cried "Ready, ok!"  
  
And the game began.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Great game guys!" Angel panted, jogging into the locker room after the match. "We killed out there!"  
  
"What? Do you mean the song or the other team?" Someone cried out, causing a wave of laughter to flow through the small area, much to Angel's dismay. He knew he'd cop a little flack for his stint.but had hoped that after their incredible win, it might be delayed for a little while. No such luck though.  
  
Spike nodded his agreement and patted his buddy on the back. "Personally, I'd have to say that your little song and dance number had the strongest effect on our win." He grinned. "I mean, did you *see* the looks the other team was givin' you? They were *THAT* bloody scared of goin' near you-"  
  
Angel growled and shrugged the other boy's hand away from his shoulder. "Shut up Spike!"  
  
The blonde could only laugh. "I'm sorry Peaches, but you could have just apologised to the girl instead of bustin' our eardrums"  
  
"The peroxided wonder has a point...." Riley joined in.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Angel moved towards the showers. "Hey, it worked didn't it?"  
  
"Yeah. You definitely succeeded in bustin' our eardrums." Another boy laughed.  
  
Another round of chuckling grew amongst the boys as they continued to cajole their team captain. Amidst one of the many jokes that Angel should apply for the 'team mascot' position, their coach appeared. He started congratulating the team on their first win, pausing mid-speech to glare at the captain. "And if you EVER pull anything like that again I will personally make sure that you will never step foot on a football field again!"  
  
Angel nodded. "Like I said, Coach, it was an initiation thing."  
  
"Yeah, well, you'd better make sure Spike's chess club initiation thing doesn't disturb any games."  
  
At that Angel grinned. "No. Wouldn't want William to go through any sort of trouble with our team, would we, Wills?" He threw his arm over Spike's shoulder, noticing the growling that went with it. This was his revenge and he was loving it.  
  
The rest of the team sniggered as the coach rolled his eyes and left  
  
"So...Wills huh?" One of the guys chuckled.  
  
Angel heaved a sigh of relief. Mission to throw the attention and jokes elsewhere accomplished. Spike was never going to forgive him for this.and yet, he really didn't care. It was payback and Spike knew it.  
  
Angel removed his shirt and stalked towards the showers. Today was shaping up already.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Sooo...Great game, huh?" Harmony asked, slipping out of her cheerleading outfit and into a pair of tight fitting jeans. She'd go home to have a shower. It was much more hygienic that way.  
  
Cordelia grinned goofily as she did the same. "Yeah, he was great." She paused and thought for a second, blushing a little at her slip. "I mean *THEY* were great! The team was great."  
  
Buffy snarled, knowing where the conversation was going, and decided to have a shower here after all.  
  
Amy, another cheerleader, smiled and nudged Cordelia. "Sure you did." She winked. "It was really some performance, though."  
  
Cordy arched her brow. "What? The game or the-"  
  
"The luscious football captain singing and dancing to win your affections." Harmony laughed. "Or did you miss that part?"  
  
Cordelia beamed, "Well, what can I say? He's a romantic." From the showers a muffled scream of frustration was heard, but Queen C shrugged it off. "And I have to admit, it was really sweet. He remembered my favourite movie...."  
  
"Oh, yeah...Now I remember where I'd seen that before!"  
  
Cordy rolled her eyes at Harmony's blondeness and the other girls giggled, leaving Harmony looking a little embarrassed, but not overly bothered by it.  
  
Cordelia sighed, regaining the attention in true Queen C style, "I really like him. He's so kind, and sweet and thoughtful-"  
  
'And mine!' Buffy's mind added as she sulked, allowing the other girls to ogle over Angel.  
  
"And drop dead gorgeous!" Another cheerleader added, as if she had to remind the rest.  
  
Harmony considered that for a second. "I don't know...I think Spike's kinda cute too..."  
  
"Who?" Someone else asked in jest. "Captain Chess Club?" This resulted in another round of giggles.  
  
"You guys heard that?" Cordelia laughed. "Wow...Stuff like this travels even faster than I thought."  
  
Harmony pouted and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "He's hot, ok?"  
  
Queen C laughed again. "You can go for it. I think Spike's completely unattached at the moment."  
  
Her blonde friend brightened immediately.  
  
"Actually," Cordy pondered aloud, "I'm meeting Angel later, so I'll tell him to bring Spike along and we'll double date."  
  
"Really? Thanks Cordy! This'll be fun! I'll turn up looking fantastic and-" Harmony paused and frowned. "Ohhh.Now I gotta leave early to choose the PERFECT outfit..."  
  
Buffy put her hands over her ears and tried to block out the sound. She'd dumped Riley to get Angel back (and to leave Cordy out in the cold for once) but it had backfired miserably. And *NOW* the other guy that had been attracted to her was being taken from right under her nose! Sure, she didn't like him to begin with, but that wasn't the point!  
  
The blonde kicked the wall and groaned in pain as the concrete hit her toes. That was that last straw. She was going to get everything back to normal.whatever it took.  
  
But wait, she paused, what the hell was normal?  
  
There was no real normal in the grand scheme of things. That was for sure. In fact, all she really wanted was to be happy. Whether that meant having Angel, Riley or Spike -or even all three- fawning over her she didn't really know.Just that she wanted things to get better for her. It didn't matter about the others. Just her.  
  
Buffy sighed and let a tear roll down her cheek. How could she be happy if no one wanted her anymore? That was her real problem. Nobody wanted her. Maybe the problem lay within. Maybe *she* had to change before she could expect people to accept her.  
  
Although the idea seemed ridiculous to her, she didn't dismiss it. She didn't dismiss the idea of apologising to Riley either.  
  
All Buffy Summers wanted was happiness. She'd do whatever it took to get that back.  
  
******************* 


End file.
